


It Takes Two

by GlowingArrowsInTheSky



Series: But the Earth Refused to Die [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grouptale (Undertale), Apologies, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No Incest, Reunions, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21976366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingArrowsInTheSky/pseuds/GlowingArrowsInTheSky
Summary: Events directly following the end of the main fic. Bell is reunited with their surface family.
Series: But the Earth Refused to Die [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/569137
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	It Takes Two

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am again! This is a fic I've been developing in bits and pieces for nearly three years now. I hope my faithful readers enjoy this latest installment, it's always a joy and a pleasure to share these stories with all of you!

News crews caught wind of the barrier breaking before the rest of the world. As the seven humans made their way back down Mt. Ebott amidst scores of monsters, dozens of varied reporters climbed up the mountain in the hopes of scoring the first exclusive scoop on what exactly had happened underground. Many of the reporters struck out though, as the majority of the monsters had no idea what had happened to liberate them all either. Most monsters gave a shrug and vague whine when asked how the barrier had been broken; so many of them had been so far removed from the possibility of ever obtaining freedom, that they were still reveling in the shock of it actually happening and couldn’t be bothered with the logistics just yet. 

Papyrus however, had more of an inkling than other monsters as to what had happened, and was more than happy to share his “knowledge” with whichever reporters would stand and hold a mic in front of him. Which turned out to be quite a few, judging by the halo of camera equipment surrounding Papyrus as he recounted the sparing information with as much embellishment as possible. 

“Aghck! No fair!” Hop stamped their new metal foot against the dusty ground. “We’re the ones who freed everyone, you’d think they’d wanna hear it directly from us!” 

“Try not to be too jealous, Hop,” Alex laughed, lifting their younger sibling up to sit on their shoulders. “Getting involved with the media is like a sand trap. You give those reporters an inch, they take a mile.” 

“Alex is right. Nothing but a bunch of flesh-eating vultures, if you ask me,” Bell said, shaking their hair out for the cameras anyway. “That’s probably why Papyrus doesn’t mind them that much.” 

“Bell, for the love of God,” Laurel groaned as Bell began to laugh at their own bad joke. Rolling their eyes at Bell, Laurel went to a better vantage point to see the town sprawling out around the mountain’s base.

“Probably why Mettaton doesn’t seem to mind either.” Robin pointed to where a far off crowd of reporters and gathering civilians were all clamoring to hear Mettaton’s dazzling tale of how he personally helped free the underground. 

“I’m sorry,” Alex shook their head with a dramatic blink. “I’m still processing the fact that Bell said I was right about something.” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get used to it.” Bell stuck their tongue out and turned to join Laurel, who stood squinting down the mountain. “Getting your bearings alright there, my dude?” 

“Mmmm kind of,” Laurel mumbled, shading their eyes from the golden afternoon sunlight. “It’s a little difficult without my glasses. Plus, y’know, if I still had my notebook I’d at least have some written gauge for where to go next.” 

“Don’t worry,” Bell grinned, wrapping an arm around Laurel’s shoulders. “I grew up ‘round these parts, I know where I’m going like I know the back of my hand!” 

“Bell, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not sure I trust your navigational skills after you walked me right into a wall,” Laurel rolled their eyes. 

“God, you make one mistake...” Bell sighed. “Look, I know where I’m going, alright? I’ll take you all to meet my family, it’ll be great!” 

“Your surface family?” Twain looked up from where they sat picking golden flowers and weaving them into a crown for Frisk. “Wh-What if they don’t like us?” 

“Then, they obviously have no taste.” Hop tossed their bedraggled hair over their shoulder with a haughty sniff. “But, uh, just out of curiosity, what if they don’t like us?” 

“Come on, my parents are super nice,” Bell reassured her siblings, throwing her arms around Hop and Twain’s shoulders. “They’ll help us get all sorted out up here and everything. And my twin brother’s nice, too, I’m sure you’ll all love Blue.” 

Alex’s eyebrows shot into their hairline. “Blue? Your brother’s name is Blue?” 

“Yeah, what of it?” Bell challenged. 

“Nothing, nothing!” Alex held up his hands in surrender. “Really glad your parents didn’t name me is all.” 

“Alex, knock it off,” Robin elbowed Alex in the ribs, causing their sibling to double over dramatically. Robin ignored Alex’s feigned choking sounds and smiled at Bell. “I’m sure your family is lovely, Bell, and we can’t wait to meet them.” 

“Great!” Bell grinned. “Let’s get Toriel and go then.” 

* * *

Bell’s home looked like something out of a storybook. It was a cottage-style house painted a soothing gray with a gabled roof outlined in white. Leading up to the front door was a stonework path lined with chrysanthemums and asters, glowing warmly in the fleeting rays of the late afternoon sun. 

Bell took a deep breath and closed their eyes, standing at the edge of the stonework path. A warm hand touched their shoulder, giving Bell a reassuring pat. Bell opened their eyes and saw Robin smiling down at them. 

“They’ll be so happy to see you, Bell,” Robin said softly. The sunset was caught in Robin’s orange hair, creating a fiery halo around Bell’s oldest sibling. 

Bell only nodded, too nervous to speak. Looking to the side, they found Laurel’s face. Even without their glasses on, Laurel could sense Bell’s apprehension and reached out to clasp their other shoulder. 

“It’ll be alright, Bell,” Laurel nodded. “We’ll be right behind you.” 

Bell nodded at their best friend. Swivelling their torso around, Bell searched for Toriel. The white goat monster stood at the back of the group, partially hidden under the shade of a dogwood tree. Toriel met Bell’s gaze and smiled at the child. Bell smiled back. Five years of unspoken words hung between the two. After a moment, Bell turned away from Toriel and looked forward. Bell pushed their anxiety to the side and forced themself to take a step. And then another. And in no time at all, Bell was standing at their front door. They were home at last. 

Not giving themself time to hesitate, Bell reached up and knocked on the door. There was the sound of shuffling footsteps from inside, then the sound of a lock clicking, then the sound of squeaking hinges, and then silence as a woman appeared in the open doorway. She was petite, with brown skin and dark brown corkscrew curls grown long past her shoulders. Her beautiful face was creased with worry lines and she had dark circles stamped around her brown eyes. When she opened the door and saw Bell waiting on the other side, she froze, not moving a muscle as she stared uncomprehendingly at the child in front of her. 

Bell waved their fingers at her. “Hi, Mom.” 

At those words, Bell’s mother’s face crumpled as tears came to her eyes. Breaking out of her frozen pose, the woman started screaming, incoherent screams of unfiltered joy. Her arms flailed without direction joyous cries poured from her mouth. Bell laughed as their mother dove down and threw her arms around them, picking Bell up and spinning her in a circle. Eventually, Bell was set down, but their mother knelt to keep her arms around them. Bell’s mother tried to speak, but only sobs came out as she held Bell as tight as she possibly could. 

“Clara?! Clara, what on earth is the matter?” A man’s voice exclaimed, accompanied by hurried footsteps. 

“Joe, for the love of God, get out here!” Clara managed to speak through her tears at last, her voice curled with a slight French accent. 

“I’m coming, I’m co-” Joe appeared in the doorway, his words dying in his throat as he saw Bell still clutched in her mother’s arms. He was a short, stout man with fair skin and close-cropped strawberry blonde hair. Like his wife, Joe had his share of lines creasing his handsome round face. Upon seeing Bell, tears filled his ice blue eyes. “Bell, you- You- Bell, I can’t believe-” 

“It’s good to see you too, Dad,” Bell smiled, a few short sobs escaping through their teeth before they were crying just as much as their mother. That was all it took to send Joe flying through the doorway, throwing his arms around his wife and child, holding them both as they all cried together.

Bell buried her face in her father’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his aftershave. Their mother’s long nails combed through their mangled hair. Bell’s heart was full of relief, finally embraced by their family again after so many years spent apart. 

The three of them spent a long time huddled together on the front porch hugging and crying. Bits and pieces of all that had happened over the past five years tumbled out amidst apologies and declarations of love, details lost in the euphoria of reunion. 

“Do you know how much I missed you, _ma chérie_? Do you know?” Mrs. Beaumont asked as she peppered Bell’s face with kisses. “I thought of you every day, I never forgot about you.” 

“I know, I know,” Bell cried even harder than they had been before. “I never forgot you either, Mom. I thought about you every day, too.” 

“Blue will be so happy that you’re back, Bell.” Mr. Beaumont cupped Bell’s face in his hands and smiled. “Losing you was especially hard on him, he missed you so much.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Bell shook their head, guilt curdling their expression. “I am so sorry for ever going up that mountain, I was so stupid.” 

Bell’s mother and father hushed her immediately, hugging her closer as they assured her she had nothing to be sorry for.

“We all make mistakes, Bell,” Mrs. Beaumont said. “What’s important is that you’re safe.” 

Bell looked over their shoulder at the rest of their family, their siblings and Toriel waiting patiently at the end of the walkway. “That reminds me,” Bell said, pulling slightly away from their parents. “The reason I’m safe, it’s because I wasn’t alone. I want to introduce you to the people I’ve been living with for the past five years.” 

Bell’s parents looked at the others gathered in front of their house, taking notice of them for the first time. Clara and Joe both startled at the sight of Toriel, but managed to stay calm as Bell lead them over to the group. The other kids were eager to step forward and introduce themselves, each one clamoring to be heard over the others. Toriel introduced herself politely, and the Beaumonts thanked her for looking after Bell. 

“We, uh, were just watching on the news about the mountain a few minutes ago,” Mrs. Beaumont said. “Honestly, Bell, if you hadn’t come here, we would have been at the mountain looking for you pretty soon anyways.” 

“Wait, you guys knew where I was?” Bell asked. 

“No, we had no idea where you went, Bell,” Mr. Beaumont shook his head. “We figured it was a possibility that you climbed the mountain.” 

“You were always getting into mischief,” Mrs. Beaumont added. “When you went missing, we checked as many places as we could. No one was willing to search the mountain though.” 

“You mean Blue didn’t…?” Bell trailed off, looking back at the house to find their old bedroom window. Almost as if she’d planned it, Bell spied the corner of someone’s face as they were pulling out of eyeshot. 

“Bell?” Mrs. Beaumont called her child back to attention. “You were asking something about Blue?” 

Bell tore their gaze away from the window. “Nothing, nothing!” Bell insisted, rubbing the back of their neck as they tried to think of a way to change the subject. “I’m just anxious to see Blue. Do you think we can go inside?” 

“Of course we can go inside!” Mr. Beaumont exclaimed, putting an arm around Bell’s shoulders and steering her towards the house. “All of your stuff’s still here, we didn’t get rid of a thing.” 

Bell laughed. “I bet that’ll be something to see.” 

Mrs. Beaumont beckoned the rest of the group inside as well. “Come in, come in!” she called. “We’re a family now, no? Our home is your home.” 

As the others caught up, Bell stepped into the house. The main floor was just how Bell remembered it, notwithstanding a few changes in decor. To the left was the dining room, the round table still set with four chairs. Bell smiled at the framed family portrait, taken only three months before Bell disappeared, hanging centered on the wall. To the right was the sunken living room, the old leather sectional still taking up most of the space. The T.V. was set to a local news network, broadcasting live from the base of Mt. Ebott; Bell chuckled as they saw Mettaton and Papyrus each vying for the interviewer’s attention. On the mantel, Bell spied pictures of herself from years ago, accompanied by newer ones of Blue that she’d never seen before. Directly inside the door, was the main staircase pressed against the dining room’s outer wall.

At the top of the stairs stood a young boy. He looked so much like Bell that, even if no one had said so, it could be immediately discerned the two were twins. The only significant differences in his appearance were his shorter curls and his thick black-rimmed glasses. His eyes were empty of any telltale emotions as he stood, arms crossed, looking down at Bell. Wordlessly, Blue uncrossed his arms and began to descend the stairs. 

“Blue,” Bell exhaled, moving towards the stairs. “It’s me. I’m back.” Bell smiled as her twin reached the bottom of the stairs where she was waiting. “I missed you so-” 

**_POW!_ **

Blue swung his arm forward and punched Bell square in the jaw. Bell staggered back with a gasp, eyes boggling out of her head as she gaped at Blue. Ignoring the reprimands that erupted from his parents, Blue turned on his heel and stalked out of the room without a word. A deafening crack shook the house as Blue slammed the back door, a stark contrast to the silence that fell over the house in the moment that followed. 

Bell held their jaw in shock, staring at the space where Blue had been moments ago. The other kids, who had all made it into the house just in time to witness Blue’s suckerpunch, gathered around Bell in concern. 

“Are you alright?” Alex asked, taking Bell’s face in their hands and checking where Bell had been punched. “He slugged you pretty hard.” 

“I deserved that,” Bell muttered. 

Robin put an arm around Bell’s shoulders. “Bell, no, you didn’t. Don’t say things like that.” 

“So, that was your twin, huh?” Laurel inquired, squinting at the back door. 

“Yeah, that was Blue,” Bell nodded, still in a daze as their mom and dad came to check on them as well. 

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Mrs. Beaumont said. “Blue’s such a gentle child, he’s never hit anyone before.” 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it, Bell,” Mr. Beaumont assured them. “I’ll go talk to him.” 

“No.” Bell snapped out of their stupor. “No, I’ll go talk to him.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Twain offered.

“No, I have to go alone,” Bell insisted. “Blue and I have a lot to talk about.” 

“We will be right here if you need us,” Toriel said. 

“I know,” Bell nodded. “Thank you.” 

With that, Bell walked away from the rest of their family and went after their twin. Bell stepped tentatively onto the back porch, letting the screen door fall shut softly behind them. Blue sat with his back to Bell, perched on the steps while he stared at the dwindling sunset as it caught on the freshly mown grass of the fenced in backyard. 

“Blue?” Bell asked softly, shuffling their bare feet against the familiar texture of the tiled porch. “Would you please talk to me?” 

Blue gave a heavy sigh, his shoulders hunching up around his face like a protective shield. “About what?”

“About anything,” Bell shrugged, picking nervously at their lip. “You and I could always be honest with each other, even when we were angry. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be nice to me, or feel bad about not being happy to see me just because I’m back after so long. Because I know that you probably have a lot of mixed up feelings about what happened all those years ago - and so do I - and it’s not fair for me to expect you to be super okay with everything when I know that I’m not ready to be okay with it myself.” 

“You were such an idiot, Bell. It’s your fault you fell down,” Blue muttered after a moment, glaring out at the backyard as if he could set it on fire with an angry grimace. “You and your stupid bets.” 

“I know,” Bell said, pushing their curls up off their forehead. “I know and I’m sorry.” 

“You should have listened to me when I told you not to mess around on Mt. Ebott,” Blue continued. “But _nooooo_ ...There’s no way that the invincible Bell Beaumont could _ever_ fall down that chasm,” he threw a glare over his shoulder. “Except that you did. And I had to live with that knowledge while our parents searched everywhere for you, for years.”

“I’m sorry, Blue,” Bell said again. “It must have been terrible for you.” 

“Yeah, it was, thanks for asking,” Blue snapped. 

“Why didn’t you tell Mom and Dad what happened?” Bell asked. 

“Because I couldn’t!” Blue exclaimed. “I mean, would you have been able to look our parents in the eyes and tell them you were the reason your twin went missing!?” 

“It wasn’t your fault, though,” Bell said. 

“Well, it sure felt like it,” Blue spat, turning around to glower at the yard some more. 

“You said it yourself, it’s my fault I fell down,” Bell said, clenching their hands into fists to keep them from shaking too visibly. “It’s my fault I fell down. I was an idiot and I should have listened to you. And I know there’s nothing I can do to make up for the past five years of grief I caused our family. But I’d like to try and make the most of however long I have left with you guys, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” 

Bell stood and waited for Blue’s response as if they were teetering on the edge of Mt. Ebott’s chasm all over again. Blue made a noise like he was struggling to breathe, and Bell realized that he was crying. Biting down on their lip, Bell pretended not to notice, remembering how much Blue hated for other people to see him cry.

“Of course I forgive you, Bell!” Blue whipped around. Tears gushed down his face as he fixed his twin with an anguished, desperate look. “But you’re still just _such an idiot_!” 

Bell laughed, their own voice cracking over a relieved sob. “No arguments here,” they smiled.

Blue made a snuffling noise and wiped an arm across his face, then settled back around with his chin to his knees. “I’m sorry I punched you,” he murmured, fingers playing around a hole in his jeans. 

“That’s alright,” Bell said breathlessly, walking over and sitting down next to Blue. “Believe it or not, I’ve had much worse than that.” 

“I noticed,” Blue said, giving Bell’s charred outfit a pointed look. “Good to know you wreak havoc whether above or below ground level.” 

“Oh well, that’s all over and done with now,” Bell sighed. “I’m alive, aren’t I?” 

“Yeah, you are,” Blue nodded, smiling a little to himself. “I don’t know _how_ , but you are.” 

“What do you mean you don’t know how!?” Bell sat back on their hands. “You doubted my skills?” 

“Bell, you’ve never been what I’d call careful, have you?” Blue laughed. “As I recall, it’s what got you into that whole mess in the first place.” 

“True, true,” Bell nodded. “Luckily, I had people to take care of me along the way.” 

“Ah, your new family. I saw them from the window,” Blue said. “So, are you going to stay with them now?” 

Bell bumped Blue’s shoulder with theirs. “That’s cute,” they teased. “You really did miss me.” 

“Shut up,” Blue rolled his eyes. “I was just going to say that I’d help you pack, but all of your shit is from when you were nine, so I doubt it would even fit anymore.” 

Bell laughed. “Well, you’re out of luck then; because I’m splitting the time between my two families. I shouldn’t have to choose between you all. I’m going to make it work.” 

“Hmm,” Blue lifted his eyebrows. “You sure Mom and Dad will go for that?” 

“Hah!” Bell sniffed, straightening their shoulders back to give themself a regal air. “They’d better. My other mom is a queen, you know.” 

“God, that’s just what your ego needed,” Blue turned his face away and sighed dramatically to cover up his smile. “I suppose I’ll just have to grin and bear it. Being an only child was lovely, but it looks like Hurricane Bell is back on the radar.” 

“You bet your ass they are!” Bell laughed again, standing up off the stairs and holding a hand out to their twin. “Come on, I wanna introduce you to everyone.” 

“Alright,” Blue grinned, grabbing Bell’s hand and standing up next to them. 

Blue’s glance flicked to the screen door that opened onto the back porch and squinted at the six pairs of curious eyes peeking out at Bell and him. “They seem eager to introduce themselves as well,” he laughed, waving to the other kids through the window.

“Huh?” Bell raised their eyebrows, looking to the door just in time to see their other siblings’ faces dart out of range. “Hey!” they shouted, storming to the door and throwing it open as their siblings skittered away. Stomping inside, Bell pinned the other six fallen humans with a seething glare as they froze against the nearest wall like criminals caught in the middle of a robbery. “Quit eavesdropping on my private conversations, you vultures!” 

“Aw, come on, Bell! Can you really blame us for being curious?” Alex grinned, dimples flashing as they stood with their hands raised in mock surrender.

“Yes, I can and I will,” Bell spat. Then, heaving a sigh, they shook their head and smiled at their siblings. “You guys wanna meet my twin?” 

A chorus of six voices all whooped in approval, and Bell waved Blue forward. Putting their arm around their twin brother’s shoulders, Bell gestured to their other six siblings. 

“Blue, meet my siblings,” Bell said, bringing their hand to rest against Blue’s chest. “Guys, meet my twin brother, Blue.” 

Laurel was the first to step forward and offered Blue their hand. “It’s so nice to meet you,” they said. “I’d say you look just like Bell, but I can’t see anything without my glasses.” 

“Blue, Laurel’s my absolute best friend,” Bell smiled. “They’re the smartest person I know.” 

Blue smiled, still shaking Laurel’s hand. “Nice to meet you too, Laurel. I would say I’ve heard so much about you, but I’m afraid Bell got mixed up and gave their letters home to the mail _barrier_ instead of the mail carrier.” 

Laurel’s eye twitched as Bell and Blue dissolved into laughter. “I see you share Bell’s propensity for bad puns.” 

“Don’t you mean pro _pun_ sity?” Bell elbowed Laurel, still laughing. 

“Oh, dear God,” Laurel slapped a hand to their forehead, sighing heavily to hide the slight hint of laughter in their voice. “Robin, please, make them stop.” 

“Sorry, Laurel,” Robin shrugged. “Bell’s pun-making power is one thing, but combined with their twin? That’s an unstoppable force.” Robin turned to Blue and smiled. “Hi, I’m Robin.” 

“They’re the oldest,” Bell informed their twin, who reached out and shook Robin’s hand. 

“Blue, my man!” Alex stepped forward as Robin moved away. Kneeling down, Alex clapped a hand to Blue’s shoulder and turned a wide grin up to him. “Where’d you learn to slug like that? I know it wasn’t from Bell.” 

“Oho! You wanna bet!?” Bell challenged, kicking out and landing a sharp hit to Alex’s shin. “Blue, this is Alex. The persistent thorn in my side of the past five years.” 

“And proud of it!” Alex announced, leaning in with their arm around Blue’s shoulders. “Bell’s always been jealous of me because they know I’m the cool sibling.” 

“Is that so?” Bell raised their eyebrows. “Hop, show Blue the picture of you shoving leaves into Alex’s face.” 

“All that’ll do is confirm that I am, in fact, the cool sibling,” Hop batted their eyelashes smugly. “I’m Hop, by the way,” they introduced themself to Blue. “I’d wait for Bell to introduce me, but I’m not immortal.” 

“I was getting to it,” Bell rolled her eyes. “Blue, this is Hop.” 

“Hop?” Blue raised an eyebrow in the younger kid’s direction. “Wait a second, is your full name-?” 

“Hey, is that a swing set!?” Hop exclaimed, pushing past Blue as they bolted to the back door. Running into the backyard, Hop made a beeline for the old rusted swing set shoved into one corner of the yard. Frisk also got excited by this discovery, and ran to catch up with Hop. 

“That was Frisk,” Bell said, making a helpless gesture at the two youngest kids who were deep in play mode by that point. 

Blue stared out at Hop, a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. “Bell, I think that’s-” 

“And last, but not least,” Bell continued, not having heard their brother. “This is Twain.” 

Blue turned back around when Twain finally stepped into view. As the two met eyes, recognition smacked across their faces, causing them both to drop their jaws in astonishment. 

“Twain Cook!?” Blue exclaimed, the corners of his lips curving up into a wide smile. 

“Blue Beaumont!?” Twain marvelled, clapping a hand over his mouth in shock. 

“Oh my God!” Blue shook his head in disbelief, grabbing Twain by the shoulders. 

“I can’t believe this!” Twain reached up and held onto Blue’s arm.

“Ahem!” Bell cleared their throat loudly, demanding the two’s attention. “You two know each other? Since when!?” 

“Twain went to school with me for a little while,” Blue began, slinging an arm over Twain’s shoulders. “He was the nicest kid you ever met.” 

“Blue defended me from a bully who was picking on me,” Twain continued, looking at Blue with admiration. “I can’t believe you were Bell’s twin the whole time.” 

“I can’t believe you were with Bell all this time,” Blue countered. “This is just...Wow, what a small world.” 

“I’ll say,” Bell looked between Blue and Twain, still not fully comprehending the information she’d just learned. 

“And you were afraid Bell’s family wouldn’t like you,” Alex gave Twain a good natured knock on the shoulder. 

Laurel made their way over to Bell, taking their hand and giving it a squeeze. “Looks like we were fated to be a family all along.” 

“Yeah, I guess,” Bell agreed. “I can’t believe all of this is actually happening.” 

Laurel watched Bell’s face carefully. “How do you feel?” 

Thinking Laurel’s question over, Bell smiled at last. “I’m so happy.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! See you next time!


End file.
